Dispensing cabinet



Feb. 22, 1949. c. scHNER, JR., ET AL 2,462,816

DISPENS ING CABINET Filed Aug. 10, 194e a o o o o u o o o o o ocATTORNEY Patented Feb. 22, 1949 UNlTED S'i'i'lES RTENT ilFFlCEDISPENSING CABINET New York Application August 10, 1946, Serial No.689,752

l. Claim. 1

This invention relates to cabinets for dispensing buttons and the like.

The sale of buttons and the like in department and dry goods stores haslong presented problems which heretofore have not been solvedsatisfactorily. Originally loose buttons were merely placed in suitablecontainers such as boxes, drawers, etc., sometimes with a sampledisplayed thereon, but this was unsatisfactory for the buttons wereinadequately displayed, and if left within reach of customers, werefrequently mixed by being placed in the wrong containers.

More recently it has been the custom to mount buttons on cards, usuallywith a plurality of buttons affixed to each card sold as a unit. Suchcards may be displayed on sales counters to better advantage than loosebuttons, but again, if the cards are handled by customers, they becomesoiled and bent, and are frequently misplaced. Moreover, the number ofbuttons affixed to the card frequently differs from the number desiredby the customer. For example, if the buttons are arranged three to acard, as is frequently the case, and if the customer desires fourbuttons, it is necessary for the customer to purchase two cards, thuswasting two buttons.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing cabinetadapted to contain strips of separable button cards, each having abutton affixed thereto, which said cabinet provides a display table onwhich the buttons may be adequately displayed, and provides meanspermitting any desired number of button cards to be Withdrawn from thecabinet and detached from the strip.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes ofillustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the cabinet on an enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a detail cross section showing the guideways.

Figure 4 is a plan View showing a preferred form of button strip.

Referring to the drawings, the cabinet comprises an oblong, rectangularbox l of any desired dimensions, having a top or lid 2 hinged thereto byhinges 3. The inside of the box is divided into a plurality of separatecompartments by partitions 4 extending from the front wall to the backWall, each of said compartments being adapted Z to receive a strip ofbutton cards, preferably in the form of a roll 5.

The nature of the strip and of the individual, separable button cards isillustrated in Figure 4, said strip being provided with transverseweakened lines, such as lines of perforations 6 dividing the strip intoa plurality of easily separable cards l, each having a button 8 affixedthereto by a wire staple projecting upwardly through the card and buttonor otherwise affixed thereto in any suitable manner. if desired, theedges of the strip may be provided With notches 9 aligned with the linesof perforations which said notches facilitate the tearing of the cardsfrom the strip along the lines of perforations.

The top or lid l provides a table on which the buttons may be displayed,and is provided with a slot le? through which the ends of the strips maylead from the interior of the box. Extending across the top from frontto back are a plurality of guide flanges l l. One of such guide anges ismounted at either end of the box, and one over each of the partitions d,whereby a pair of such guide flanges being provided for each strip, saidguide flanges being spaced so that their edges overlay the edges of thestrip, thus holding the strip parallel to the table but permitting thestrip to slide along the flanges when the end is pulled.

The rear ends of the guide flanges behind the slot lil may be used toreceive and hold price cards l2 on which may be printed price marksindicating the pri-ce of the buttons on each strip.

Mounted inside the box and supported on the ends thereof is a guide rodIt which may or may not be mounted for rotation. Said rod is mountedbehind said slot and reasonably close to said lid, so that regardless ofthe size of the roll, the strip has a fair lead to the table. Each ofthe strips is passed around the rod i3 before being passed through theslot l0, and is guided by the rod so that it feeds easily into the guideflanges. Furthermore, due to the resilience of the strip, the guide rodtends to cause the strip to bulge upwardly against the overlyingportions of said guide flanges so as to close the slot, therebypreventing dust and dirt from entering the cabinet through the slot.

The front edge lll of the table is preferably a square edge so as topresent a tearing edge along which the button cards may be detached. Inthe embodiment illustrated, the front of the table projects beyond thefront of the box, thereby providing an overhang which permits easymanipulation of the botton cards which are to be detached.

In preparing the cabinet for use, the top is swung upwardly on itshinges and a rolled strip of button cards is placed in each of thepartitioned compartments in the box. Then, while the top is still open,the end of each strip is led around the guide rod i3, then through theslot Hl, then under the guide anges Il, being pulled along the tableuntil the leading edge of the rst button card is opposite the tearingedge I4. TheY hinged top is then closed to display the buttons. When thestrips are uniformly arranged in this manner, a large number of buttonsare displayed and the display is neat and attractive as the buttons arealigned and evenly spaced.

When a customer selects a certain style of button, the desired number ofbutton cards may be withdrawn by pulling the end of the strip anddetaching them by tearing along the tearing edge, thus leaving theremainder of the strip properly positioned. Whenever a strip is used up,it may be replaced by another.

It is important that the proper relation be preserved between the sizeof the. button cards, the openings lll through which they are drawn andthe location of the guide bar or roller I3. For example, in oneembodiment of the invention each button card is 11/2 inches wide and 1inch long, i. e., between perforations. The opening in the table isWider than 11/2 inches by enough to afford clearance and is llg inchesfrom front to back. The axis of the guide bar or roller, which is l inchin diameter, is located inch below and 3A; inch to the rear of the rearedge of the opening. By thus proportioning and locating the severalelements referred to the strip of button cards will be guided easily toand through the opening and the opening will be substantially closed atall times.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified andembodied within the scope of the subjoined claim.

We claim as our invention:

In a cabinet from which are dispensed in Strip sponding to each strip aslot through which said strip passes, and means within said box forguiding each strip to its particular slot, a plurality of anges mountedon said cover in such manner that two of such flanges co-operate witheach slot, said anges extending rearwardly of each slot far enough tooverlie and hold in place a card indicating the price of the articlebeing dispensed from that slot, and extending forwardly of each slot farenough to position a strip as it emerges from its slot, and regulate itspath across the cover to the front edge thereof, whence the number ofarticles desired by a customer may be severed from the main body of thestrip.

CHARLES SCHNER, JR. FRANK ZEISER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES `PAkilrlllTS Marcuse Dec. 20, 1921

